The Living Building Challenge‘s reputation as the highest quality sustainability certification standard for building environments is continuing to grow within the architecture, design and construction fields. Each month new projects are registering for the Challenge, and A&D professionals can no longer remain in the dark about how it works.
The Frick Environmental Center (FEC), unveiled to the public in September, is the world’s first municipally owned, Living Building Challenge-targeted project.
The project is a joint venture between the City of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy to breathe new life into an environmental education center nestled in downtown Pittsburgh’s 644-acre Frick Park.
Designed by architecture firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (BCJ), the building will provide “experiential learning to a projected 20,000 K-12 students and hundreds of thousands of people who visit each year.”
BCJ designed and supported engineering the building to achieve both Living Building Challenge and LEED Platinum standards. It’s a project that sheds light on the process A&D firms go through to recommend certifications standards.
The selection of the certification process is really about aligning it to the client’s mission and to their brand, said Robert Aumer, senior associate project manager at BCJ. “The Living Building Challenge was the most ambitious and the most aligned to the FEC’s mission. The seven petals of the Challenge are inherently connected to what the Frick Environmental Center does.
“LEED Platinum has been done; it’s a low hanging fruit. And the WELL Building Institute aligns really well with denser, corporate environments. We found the Living Building Challenge to be the most extensive program. It’s like LEED on steroids – it’s where we see LEED several years from now.”
Beyond the client’s mission and branding, project teams must consider circumstances like the nature of the project’s physical space as well as project timeline.
“The Frick Environmental Center is really a welcome center,” said Mr. Aumer. “It’s a very transient type of space, and relatively small. On the corporate level, the speed at which architects and designers need to complete projects is very quick, compared to smaller scale projects.”
As a quick refresher, projects seeking Living Building Challenge certification must meet a series of requirements in seven performance categories called “Petals.” The seven Petals are: Place, Water, Energy, Health & Happiness, Materials, Equity, and Beauty. Each project is registered as one of three typologies – Renovation, Landscape / Infrastructure (non conditioned development), or Building – and then the project team must work through each Petal’s requirements.
Project teams aiming for Living Building Challenge certification have to think more holistically about designing and siting their projects.
“The Living Building Challenge is more black and white than other certification systems,” said Mr. Aumer. “There’s not a point structure, and you don’t have the option to achieve ‘half’ a petal.
Satisfying the Living Building Challenge’s “Energy” and “Water” requirements, the FEC will achieve net zero energy and water using the following elements:
>Ground-source heat pumps
>Radiant floors
>A photovoltaic array
>A reclaimed water system that will provide captured and filtered storm water for irrigation, use in the fountain, and building non-potable use
The design team focused much of its effort on the Materials Petal – because it presents significant obstacles to all projects. The Materials Petal requires a project to:
>Comply with the red list. The Challenge acknowledges reasonable “temporary exceptions for numerous Red List items due to current limitations in the materials economy,” so it provides a pared down, Challenge approved Red List to make the requirement achievable for all projects.
>Achieve an embodied carbon footprint
>Advocate for the creation and adoption of third-party certified standards for sustainable resource extraction and fair labor practices.
>Incorporate place-based solutions and contribute to the expansion of a regional economy rooted in sustainable practices, projects and services
>Achieve net positive waste
To minimize the project’s carbon footprint, all building materials came from within a 1,200-mile radius of the site.
“Time is money on a construction site,” said Mr. Aumer. “The Living Building Challenge was constantly presenting hurdles that made us pause and really think about how to proceed, particularly with the Materials Petal.
“We worked very hard to find materials that could be used on the exterior and on the interior of the space.”
The design team selected black locust as wood siding, for its extreme durability and for the way it weathers.
“When it’s new, it’s bright and blonde, but it will patina to a gray as time goes on,” noted Mr. Aumer. “It’s something that will age with them and the center; there’s a romantic element there.”
Subcontractors and tradespeople were hired in the Allegheny County-Western Pennsylvania region. In addition, the Conservancy selected BCJ in part for their 40-year presence in Pittsburgh, and the regional construction company PJ Dick for its work in the region.
Included in the Beauty Petal are requirements for “Beauty + Spirit” and “Inspiration + Education.” And while some might question the seriousness or the gravity of this Petal, it does correctly channel the essential beauty found in nature.
“As an architect, it’s nice to see beauty being included in a standard,” said Mr. Aumer. “People might think that’s an easy thing to accomplish, but the Living Building Challenge gives credit where credit is due.”
The design process included close collaborative outreach with the Pittsburgh community. Through those efforts, more than 1,000 community members provided feedback and helped define many elements of the projects, including a Slavery to Freedom Garden and a rain veil art installation. In addition, many of the site’s originals features – historic gatehouses, an alleé, and fountain – were restored.
On the building’s interior are classrooms, offices and support spaces that serve as a home base for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s many environmental education programs.
“Much of this space is geared for children,” said Mr Aumer. “We met with several classes from the Environmental Center and interviewed the children about what they would like to see in the space. And we used a lot of that information to guide us in the design process. We were able to do things like include smaller door heights, and perches within the building that kids can kind of curl up in and hang out.”
The building also includes a public “living room” and gallery space that welcome park visitors to learn more about Frick Park’s history and extensive trails, as well as the sustainability of the building.
Because Living Building Challenge certification requires a 12-month post-occupancy period assuring all of the Challenge’s requirements are met, the FEC’s certification is targeted for spring 2018. In the meantime, the space is free and open to the public during park hours and will also be available for event rental beginning spring 2017.
The challenges the Living Building Challenge presents to architects, designers, construction and engineering professionals are difficult to work through, requiring professionals to think and plan and design better and more efficiently.
“The Living Building Challenge is forcing people to think differently across the board. What it’s asking people to do is unprecedented; it’s asking people to change their way of working – the way things have always been done in building.”
But as the Living Building Challenge grows and as sustainable practices in project planning and product manufacturing become more widespread, the Challenge will be easier to achieve and its benefits to communities will pay off.